Psalms

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Pray the Psalms Daily
with the Monks

Season
Ordinary
Advent
Christmas
Ordinary
Lent
Easter

Begins
5/28/07
12/02/07
12/25/07
1/14/08
2/06/08
3/23/08

HISTORY The early Christians, following Jewish tradition, prayed the psalms daily. St. Benedict, in the early 6th Century, explained in his Holy Rule how his monks were to daily pray the psalms. Benedictine monks have continued this practice to the present day. Many lay people, especially Benedictine Oblates, make the psalms a part of their daily prayers. The monks at Blue Cloud Abbey daily pray the psalms at Lauds (morning prayer) at 6:45 am; Day Prayer at the beginning of midday Mass; Vespers (evening prayer), sung at 5:00 pm; and Vigils (prayer preparing for the following day) at 7:30 pm. The psalms and canticles (other songs from the Bible), and accompanying prayers change according to the season and the day. Lauds (morning prayer) begins with an Invitatory which is a formal invitation to prayer. Each psalm and canticle begins and ends with an Antiphon (abbreviated ANT) which is a theme taken from the psalm for reflection.

HOW TO PRAY Below, select the season and day of the week, then morning or evening prayer and pray in the beautiful Benedictine way. These psalms and prayers are a part of what the monks pray each day. We urge you to pray meditatively and slowly and make the psalms a part of your daily lives. You can make a difference in your life, your family, and community by praying daily!
The numbering for the psalms may vary in different Bibles; the number with parenthesis is from the Greek translation, the number without parenthesis is from the Hebrew translation. These psalms are from the Inclusive Language Version of the Grail translation from the Hebrew, which the monks use for their community prayer.

From the Schedule below, select the season and then the day!
* You can printout these daily prayers for easy use. *

ADVENT SEASON
(12/2/07 through 12/24/07)

CHRISTMAS SEASON
(12/25/07 through 1/14/08)